Dendreon Corp fka DNDNQ

[rancherho]

NOVC's drug is a concentrated form of Vitamin D (calcitrol). A look at Wikipedia on Vitamin D both for its beneficial effects in cancer, toxicities, and impact on the immune system is quite interesting.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_D

Surprisingly, while Vitamin D, which sunlight's impact on skin upregulates, has been associated with the higher incidence of prostate cancer in Nordic countries as compared to the tropics, it also causes an increase in regulatory T cells with their immunosuppressive effects. Vitamin D increases the activation of macrophages, which are part of our innate immune systems. Taxotere is also associated with the increased activation of macrophages, as well as its independent effect of impeding the replication of proliferating cells.

Macrophages have been linked to arteriosclerosis and heart disease. One guess might be that the NOVC Asentar safety issue may be a case of too much of a good thing being a bad thing - overactivation of macrophages leading to cardiac problems. http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/news/press_releases/ira_tabas_diabetes_heart_disease.html
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/press/2002/September/020915.htm

Asentar's failure may also have some fall-out effect on both Provenge and GVAX since there was some concern about the slight increase in the rate of CVAs with Provenge. However, both use GM-CSF as their immune activating agent, one linked in a fusion protein and the other expressing it from genetically engineered AIPC cells. GM-CSF is an FDA approved standalone agent, however, and has not been assocated with safety concerns which would cause it removal from the market.. Also, Provenge and GVAX are associated with T cell and B cell antigen specific targeting, rather than the systemic non specific activation of innate immunity precipitated by Taxotere and Asentar.

The failure of yet another late stage oncology therapy, IMO, is somewhat of a double edged sword, which makes the ultimate value of a successful cancer therapy and its sponsor that much greater, while making potential partners all the more cautious in the absence of good data. In a safety concious environment, cancer vaccines offer the distinct advantage of low side effects, but as Dr. Petrylak and others have pointed out, they may need the help of Taxotere or other chemotherapies, with their associated side effects, to deal with cancer tolerance caused by regulatory T cells in order to demonstrate significant efficacy. JMHO